The architecture of Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) network is as shown in FIG. 1A. A WiMAX network mainly comprises three parts, namely, a mobile station (MS), an access service network (ASN), and a connectivity service network (CSN), of which the ASN mainly includes a base station (BS) and an access service network gateway (ASN-GW), and the CSN mainly includes such logic entities as a prepaid server (PPS) and an authentication authorization accounting server (AAA server). The MS and the ASN are connected via interface R1, the MS and the CSN are connected via interface R2, the ASN and the CSN are connected via interface R3, the ASNs are interconnected via interface R4, the CSNs are interconnected via interface R5, and the BS in the ASN is connected to the ASN-GW via interface R6. The wireless side, namely, the R1 side, is of Wireless Metropolitan Area Network Access technology based on Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) specification 802.16.
The framework of the latest quality of service (QoS) for WiMAX network work group (NWG) specification is as shown in FIG. 1B, where the MS is the mobile terminal of a user through which the user interacts with the network; the service flow manager (SFM) is configured to establish user service flows and assign radio resources to the established service flows, which as functional entity resides in the ASN; the service flow authorization (SFA) entity is configured to authorize the service flows, which as functional entity resides in the ASN; the policy function (PF) entity is configured to provide policies to the user's service flows, which as functional entity is provide by the network service provider (NSP), and when the user roams, a visited PF (V-PF) and a home PF (H-PH) are provided; and the application function (AF) entity is a functional entity that provides application services, and the MS of the user connects to and accesses the AF directly via application layer protocols, and the AF notifies the PF to establish initiatively service flows for the user, this functional entity is provided by the NSP.
FIG. 1C is a view illustrating a prior art WiMAX NWG specification charging architecture. As shown in FIG. 1C, MS is equivalent to a user in charging, and an accounting client collects all charging information and provides the same to the AAA server; an AAA proxy is an optional intermediate device that processes the received charging datagram to generate a new charging datagram and forwards it to the real AAA server, such as a home AAA server or a visited AAA server; the home AAA server is an AAA server to which the user initially registered or an AAA server in the home network of the user, stored in the home AAA server is subscription information of the user, including charging policies, and the charging processing of the user are mostly carried out in the home AAA server; the visited AAA server is an AAA server in the place which the user visits, and carries out the recording, transparent transmission, and forwarding of charging information when the user roams.
FIG. 1D is a view schematically showing a prior art charging reference model. As shown in FIG. 1D, the user logs in to, visits, and logs out of the network using a user terminal in a certain manner in accordance with the requirements of the network, the charging point automatically initiates a charging datagram in accordance with the visiting circumstances of the user, and the accounting server generates a corresponding bill for the user based on the received charging datagram. Charging is transparent to the user, starts from the moment the user logs in to the network, and automatically ends when the user logs out of the network.
The PCC framework is a policy control and charging control function framework defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and 3GPP2 to be applicable to various internet protocols (IP) for connection and access to networks. The PCC carries out resource and admission control and achieve certain QoS control and charging policy control with respect to characteristics of mobile access networks. The main functions provided thereby include: policy control based on customized information of users and charging control based on service data flows. The PCC is located between a service control layer and an access or bearer layer to shield the service control layer from specific technology and topological information of the access or bearer layer. The PCC receives QoS authorization parameters associated with the service from the serve control layer, combines them with admission control policies and topographic information of the network, converts the service QoS parameters into IP QoS parameters, and provides them to the associated access or bearer layer nodes and the service gateway nodes. These nodes achieve corresponding QoS control, based on the received information and their own functions. Policy control mainly indicates gating control and QoS control, while charging control indicates flow based charging (FBC).
FIG. 1E schematically shows the PCC basic functional architecture of the existing 3GPP/3GPP2 standards. As shown in FIG. 1E, the AF is a functional entity that provides applications which need to perform dynamic policy control and charging control on user plane of IP access network. The subscription profile repository (SPR) entity stores subscription profiles of users. The policy control and charging rule function (PCRF) entity executes decision on control policy and decision on flow-based charging policy. Execution of decision on control policy means that the PCRF determines QoS authorization information, such as QoS levels and bit rates, etc., based on service information from the AF and subscription profiles in SPR, and execution of decision on flow-based charging policy means that the PCRF can use subscription profiles as basis for policy control decisions and charging control decisions to determine the PCC rules and provide the same to the policy and charging enforcement function (PCEF). The PCEF entity is for QoS policy enforcement, service data flow detection, and execution of flow-based charging and gating control functions. Service data flow detection means that the PCEF detects service data flows based on a service data flow template in the activated PCC rules to recognize whether data packets belong to a single service data flow. QoS policy enforcement means that the PCEF enforces authorized QoS control of a service data flow in accordance with the activated PCC rules. Execution of flow-based charging means that the PCEF charges passing service data flows in accordance with charging policy and charging key in the PCC rules, in which the PCEF collects and reports charging information in accordance with charging requirements in the PCC rules. Execution of gating control means that the PCEF allows service data flows to pass only when gate is opened. Online charging system (OCS) is for online charging of the application layer, the PCEF requests the OCS for prepayment quota, and reports to the OCS in real time when PCEF generates a bill. Offline charging system (OFCS) is for offline charging of the application layer in a manner of offline charging, and the PCEF periodically reports bills to the OFCS after the bills are generated.
With the demand for evolution and convergence of the networks, there is a need for unified architecture for performing policy and charging control of the network, and it is hence necessary to convergence the WiMAX network and the PCC architecture of the 3GPP/3GPP2 network to achieve unified policy control and charging control. However, such a convergence solution is currently unavailable.